eagleraceway Archives

Big Wings, Big Excitement, Big Money: $12,000 is record payday for IMCA RaceSaver Nationals winner

EAGLE, Neb. (July 31, 2024) – The team at Eagle Raceway could add to the Big Wings, Big Excitement slogan used to promote the IMCA RaceSaver Nationals. The new slogan for the 12th annual event, scheduled Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at the Nebraska speed factory, would better be Big Wings, Big Excitement, Big Money. A record $12,000 will be paid to the winner of the Sunday night main event for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, courtesy of RaceSaver and IMCA. The big dance now pays a minimum of $1,600 to start with numerous contingency awards to be given as well. “This is the biggest event for the biggest class of Sprint Cars in the country and those numbers more than justify a $12,000 winner’s share and record-setting purse like this,” stated track operator and co-promoter Racine Hadan, noting that early entries are already in hand from more than 70 drivers coming everywhere from California to North Carolina. Qualifying heats for the BlueMax Pay-sponsored Race of Champions is on Thursday with that $1,000 to win, $300 to start race on Friday. Nine cars advance [Read More]

Saathoff makes it two straight at Eagle

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (July 27, 2024) – Johnny Saathoff went old school and took his Friesen Performance IMCA Modified foes to class Saturday at Eagle Raceway. Saathoff led from lap two to the checkers, outrunning Clint Homan, Shawn Harker and Dustin Andersen following a caution with seven laps to go, for his second straight Eagle checkers. The win was also his career 361st in the division. “I’ve gone old school. I put in an open motor and got away from the crate engine. I’m just having a good time at Eagle Raceway with the track that Roger (Hadan) preps for all of us,” said Saathoff, who counts four crowns at Eagle among his record 26 track titles. “That cushion was nasty tonight and it got so slick in the middle that my crate engine would have been better, but we broke ours and I don’t feel like buying another one this year. I’m on my way out and trying to use up what I have.” “I know (I’m only 61) but I keep saying [Read More]

Vanderheiden sprints to first Eagle win

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (July 13, 2024) – Young fans got a chance to add some heft to their piggy banks with the $1,500 money grab on the front stretch sponsored by One Shot Auto Repair but the big winner Saturday night at Eagle Raceway was Cole Vanderheiden. Vanderheiden won for the first time in his career at America’s Home Track, snagging the lead on a mid-race restart and denying Trevor Grossenbacher’s mad slide job attempt in the final turn for the $1,300 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car checkers. “It’s been a long time coming. Over the past three years we’ve been second, had thirds and fourths all year. It just feels amazing to finally get a win here at Eagle,” Vanderheiden said. “That’s the longest lap (the last one) I’ve ever experienced in my three years of racing. Going down the back stretch I couldn’t see him (Grossenbacher). I hopped his wheel going into three, but luckily my car didn’t break and I didn’t pop a tire,” he continued. “I kept going into four and [Read More]

Eagle celebrates Freedom Fest, Stan Cisar

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (June 29, 2024) – It was standing room only Saturday at Eagle Raceway for Freedom Fest 2024, and a special night celebrating the life of Stan Cisar. Stan was a long-time car owner and supporter of dirt track racing as well as the voice of several area dirt tracks. The opening prayer was a recording of the prayer that Stan gave every night that he announced, bringing a tug at the heart strings. Then, when the Star Spangled Banner was a recording of Stan’s magnificent voice I’m sure there were few dry eyes in the house. Knowing that it was the final time that I would hear that song, sung by The Voice of the Speedway teared me up also. As a special tribute to Stan, the purse for the IMCA Racesaver Sprint Car main event featured a $1,047 to win top prize and $347 to start referencing Stan’s Sprint no. 47. The additional purse money and the memory of Stan brought a total of 137 cars to America’s Home Track, including several visiting [Read More]

Bade, Olson both win big at Eagle

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (June 22, 2024) – Livin’ Life Full Throttle Night Saturday at Eagle Raceway was billed as a special show and turned out especially so for Shayle Bade and Geoff Olson. In memory of former track announcer and no. 47 sprint car owner Stan Cisar, IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car winner Bade took home $1,047. Bade, the national points leader, passed Koby Werkmeister for the lead on lap 14, After a caution with five circuits to go, they’d trade slide jobs and the lead with Bade in front when the checkers flew. “It’s about time! It’s been a long while and this one, if you were here, it was slide job after slide job and in the end, it was who wanted it more,” she said. “I just knew I had to have patience, drive my race, hit my line and just wait for everything to happen.” “This was my first win since I lost my dad. That makes this a pretty special win right here, and I know he’s smiling down from above,” [Read More]

Eagle win for Kovar is extra special

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (June 1, 2024) – Dion Kovar taught his Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod foes a lesson on School’s Out For Summer Night Saturday at Eagle Raceway. Kovar took advantage of his pole position start to put the no. 18 out front from the drop of the green. After running ahead of Joe Feyen most of the way, he’d regain the lead from Feyen and continue on to his first Eagle checkers since June 15 of 2019. “It was a good run. After a whole season of bad runs, this win feels a little extra special,” he said. “I’m happy to get it done, finally. We’ve been in the claim area a bunch of times, but this year we’ve had just a lot of struggles, DNF’s, just trying to figure out this car. Morale was at a season low so this was a really big win for us.” Feyen, Trevor Noonan and Cole Wayman ran 2-3-4. Bob Zoubek and Brandon Horton both scored their second Eagle wins of the season, in the Friesen [Read More]

Saturday IMCA feature wins are especially sweet at Eagle

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (May 18, 2024) – Benji Legg was among the IMCA drivers enjoying the sweet taste of victory on Buckets of Candy Night Saturday at Eagle Raceway. Legg led Tyler Jackson, Thomas Etherton and Jeremy Down in taking the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car checkers at America’s Home Track. “I won a lot of races in a SportMod here and then quit racing after 2015. I came back in 2020 in this stock car when Johnny Saathoff and I hooked back up,” he said post-race. “I really haven’t raced the Stock Car up here that much, but we had a really good run at the Icebreaker, finishing second. “We had an off week down at Beatrice and that gave me some extra time, so I thought I would come up here and try again,” he continued. “I knew it was going to be tough starting 11th but we got lucky.” Also making their way to the winner’s circle were Clint Homan in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Tige Jensen in the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint [Read More]

Eagle checkers fly for Zoubek

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (May 11, 2024) – It’s been a while but Bob Zoubek was back in victory lane Saturday at Eagle Raceway. After missing the last half of the 2023 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season with a shoulder ailment, Zoubek started sixth and finished first in the Mom’s Rule Night feature for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds. “Nate Thompson and I kind of went at it for a while but finally on that (lap eight) restart I cleared him and went to the top,” said Zoubek, last a winner at Eagle on June 17 of 2023. “The car wasn’t the best and I almost spun out once. But I gathered it up from there and took off. At the end Chad Andersen made it really interesting, putting a clean slide job on me, but I held on to win by a nose.” Andersen ended in second and Thompson came home third, with Mike Densberger holding on for fourth. Rookie Thomas Etherton’s fourth start in the class ended in his first IMCA Sunoco [Read More]

Eagle win is IMCA Modified first for Harker

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (May 4, 2024) – Where could you see 151 cars signed in, running a race program that included five main events, four ‘B’ features, three ‘C’ features and two ‘D’ features and the final checkers at 10:30 p.m.? Eagle Raceway fit that bill Saturday night with IMCA feature wins going to Shawn Harker, Brandon Horton, Kyle Vanover, Dillon Richards and Cole Wayman. Harker’s Friesen Performance IMCA Modified win was his career first win in the class. He’d be in the pits ‘til the wee hours of the morning getting congratulations from friends and fellow racers along with early birthday greetings. “It feels great. We’ve come close a lot of times and this time the circumstances finally worked out for us,” said Harker, who collected track titles at Eagle in 2018 and 2021 while totaling 40 Northern SportMod checkers plus special events wins in Las Vegas and around the Midwest before moving to the Modified three years ago. “Coming to the checkers I thought ‘Finally, I finally got the monkey off [Read More]

Saturday Ice Breaker Challenge checkers fly for Braaksma

By Greg Soukup EAGLE, Neb. (April 20, 2024) – On a track that’s definitely different than what he’s used to running on, Ethan Braaksma raced to the same results Saturday night. Braaksma won his sixth Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature, and fifth Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying race of the season, collecting $2,000 on night two of the Ice Breaker Challenge. “It was a pretty good run. I just took my time and hit my marks. I was kind of searching there at the beginning but once I found the bottom I hit it really good,” said Braaksma, the leader from lap 11 to the finish. “I could see where the others were messing up in front of me and that’s how I got to the lead. I just had to be sure to get the left side down in the moisture so I could get off of the corner.” Ricky Stephan and then Shawn Harker held down the front spot early on. Braaksma caught Chad Andersen for second on lap seven and grabbed the [Read More]